Gardening Matters Seed and Plant Events

Gardening Matters’ membership open now; Seed and Plant events scheduled around the Twin Cities!
Gardening Matters can help residents get their gardens off to a great start at seed and plant distribution events held across Minneapolis and St. Paul. Gardener memberships are no longer based on the size of a garden. Now, membership is based on the level of involvement a gardener wants in the gardening community. All members are invited to neighborhood “gardening socials,” a new social space for gardeners to meet each other and talk gardens. Skill-shares on a variety of topics from knife and tool-sharpening to canning tomatoes are being planned for gardeners. Membership is meant to foster community development and provide benefits throughout the growing season.

New this year, we are offering an option to choose burlap coffee sacks (used as weed barriers), compost and containers for container gardens, or cookbooks featuring fresh produce. Membership fees can be met in a variety of ways, making the program accessible to all income levels.

Last year, there were 800 members in the network, and the Hubs distributed more than 22,000 packets of seeds and 27,000 seedlings. Almost 3,000 adults and 3,000 more youth participated in Hubs member gardens. We estimate that members throughout the Twin Cities are growing on nearly 20 acres of land. This area could potentially grow almost 500,000 lbs of food, valued between $500,000-900,000. Yes, that’s right. Twin Cities gardeners are growing nearly $1 million dollars worth of food!

Imagine a day when we save and exchange our own seeds, cooperating with our neighbors and creating local interdependence! Together, we will grow, cook, share, and preserve food in our communities to create a just, diverse, and sustainable local food system. This is only the beginning. The time is now!